Nothing Lasts Forever
by Dragon Eyes1
Summary: My first fan fic! Please R&R!! Completed finally.
1. Default Chapter

Authors Note: This is my first attempt at writing a fan fic so all constructive criticism is welcomed! Its going to be a two parter and each part will have several chapters (I think but I haven't written it all).  
  
Disclaimer: I do not nor to I claim to own any of these characters (except patients)  
  
Nothing Lasts Forever (Part One)  
  
Holly Miles walked into the Accident and Emergency department of Holby City General Hospital having to move to avoid crashing into an incoming patient who had suffered from a heart attack. She managed to catch some of the conversation on the way past that was mostly a bunch of medical terms, but one name in particular caught her attention; "Has Patrick decided not to show up today or is he swanning off somewhere with Dr. Stone?"  
  
Max stormed past her not realising who it was. He was clearly not in a good mood. She approached the main reception desk hoping she wouldn't have the pleasure of a run in with Patrick.  
  
Her first day back at Holby and she didn't want to go dragging up old ghosts. She was then spotted by Charlie and Duffy as they walked past on the way to resus; both looked slightly surprised at first her face taking them a few seconds to register before Duffy welcomed her.  
  
"Holly! Welcome back! How was Germany?" Holly smiled.  
  
"Well it was ok but you know after a while I began to miss Holby!" Charlie nudged Duffy as Anna came towards them.  
  
"Max says we need you right away in resus" she said before quickly re entering the resus area. Holly just nodded knowing they would have to catch up later.  
  
"Well why don't you wait in my office until we're finished?" Charlie asked.  
  
"Erm...yeah ok. I don't have to be in the paediatrics department till 11:45 so I have about an hour." Holly said and then she turned and walked into Charlie's office.  
  
"Lara wait up!" shouted Patrick Spiller. He was running slightly late but the hospital could cope for the extra few minutes he thought. Lara Stone turned towards him just a few feet away from the entrance to Holby City A&E wondering what he wanted. "Hey!" he called towards her. He fell into step with her as they walked through the doors.  
  
"How are you?" She asked.  
  
"Fine. You?" He replied. She nodded as a reply. He reached for her hand and gently kissed her before they walked into the staff room.  
  
Charlie and Duffy soon returned and greeted Holly properly this time. They both wanted to know how she was and what she had been doing, which she happily filled them in on.  
  
Dillon Cahill entered the staff room and shouted to Patrick, "You're needed in resus. There's an incoming patient who fell 20 foot...from a tree."  
  
"What the hell was he doing 20 foot up a tree?" Patrick said slightly exasperated. He grabbed his stethoscope and smiled faintly to Lara before following Dillon to resus.  
  
As she watched him leave the staff room she knew something was bothering him...but didn't know what.  
  
"So why return here?" asked Charlie curiously still questioning Holly as they walked out of his office towards the staff room. "I don't mean that the way it sounded but...I would have thought that this was the last place you'd wanna be!"  
  
"So did I" she said sighing. Hearing a familiar voice she turned her head slightly and regretted it as soon as she had. It was Patrick walking towards resus. She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat slightly when she saw him. Turning back to Charlie she smiled half-heartedly and she said, "So did I".  
  
Lara Stone sighed. Aside from the man who fell out of a tree and a RTA both of which were dealt with quickly it had been a quiet day. Maybe too quiet she thought. She slumped into a chair and opened her book deciding to make the most of the empty time to revise for her forthcoming exam.  
  
She was not even half way down the page when Duffy called to her.  
  
"Major RTA arriving. ETA five minutes. 4 casualties." Lara sighed again put down her book and proceeded to the main entrance awaiting the arrival of the ambulances... 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Word had gotten round most of Holby that Holly had returned from Germany although this news had not yet reached Patrick. He had finished dealing with the man who had fallen from the tree although he had not gotten the full story of why he had been up a 20-foot tree in the first place. Mind, he thought to himself, maybe I don't wanna know! Shaking his head slightly he watched the man be wheeled up to x-ray and began to walk out of resus to await the arrival of the RTAs. But the first patient had already arrived.  
  
After receiving information from Nikki and Comfort, he and Colette managed to stabilise him before sending him up to X-ray to check no bones had been broken.  
  
The second patient, a 27year old male, was wheeled in by Josh and Finn quickly after the first had arrived. Max, Duffy and Dillon were quickly informed about the patient's details that had been made known to them. Max glanced over the patient's notes and ordered for 10 milligrams of adrenaline and a drip. Suddenly he arrested.  
  
"Shocking at 240...Clear!" Max shouted.  
  
"No output", said Dillon.  
  
"Shocking at 240 again...Clear!" Max repeated. But once again there was no output. Max watched the monitor show flat line and then called it.  
  
"All agreed?" Max asked. Everyone nodded. "Time of death...12:30." Sighing he removed his gloves and reached for a new pair as he awaited the arrival of the next two patients.  
  
The third and fourth patients arrived simultaneously and Max divided the team of seven into two groups.  
  
Max, Duffy, Dillon and Anna took an adult female who had suffered severe head trauma. She was currently unconscious and the four tried to stabilise her. Max ordered for the neurology department to be called to come and examine her.  
  
Patrick, Lara and Colette took a young girl who looked about six, called Jessie. Lara assessed her and discovered that apart from a broken wrist and a couple of scratches she was fine. Colette offered to take her to x-ray but Jessie didn't want to leave her mother. Colette tried to insist that Jessie's mum would be fine and that once she had been for her x-ray she could return and stay with her mother. Jessie did not look impressed and stubbornly refused to move, crossing her arms and then turned to stare at Patrick. Patrick asked Lara to ring the Paediatrics department to see if they could send someone down to talk to Jessie.  
  
Jessie's mum had begun to stabilise and although they could not promise anything, things where beginning to look up for her. The consultant from the neurology department walked through the doors of resus and examined Mrs Walker and then decided she was well enough to pay a visit to his department to be fully assessed there once a space became available.  
  
The doors of resus opened again and Patrick looked over quickly not paying much attention to the woman's face.  
  
"Jessie Walker, 6 years old. Came in with her mother in an RTA. Refuses to go up to x-ray. I hope you can talk some sense into her."  
  
"Hey Jessie." She said smiling. "I'm Holly." Patrick turned on hearing her voice and he stared at her confused: unsure whether to be happy or annoyed at her return.  
  
Lara watched the two, sensing Patrick's sudden bewilderment, unsure why he had changed so suddenly when Holly had entered. A look of confusion spread across her face as she uncomfortably looked across towards Dillon, wondering if he understood any better than she did. His surprised glance back told her he knew nothing more than she did. She bit her lip slightly and waited for Patrick or Holly to say something. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Lara waited in silence waiting for Holly or Patrick to say something.  
Neither did. Her torment was clear for all to see. She looked at Patrick expectantly slightly confused but he avoided her eye contact. She watched him looking at Holly sensing something between them; her eyes began to show a deep sense of betrayal and hurt. Fearing the worst, she turned and gave Jessie's notes to Colette before walking out of resus unsure in her head of what was happening.  
  
Patrick looked on in silence unsure whether it was reality or a dream that had brought Holly back to Holby City. He diverted his eyes from Lara, knowing that his eyes would betray him and exploit his past. He saw the torment that flashed briefly over Lara's face but was unsure of what he could do or say that could make this easier. He saw her hand Jessie's notes to Colette and tried to follow her but his legs rooted him to the spot.  
  
Holly continued to talk to Jessie, ignoring Lara and Patrick, she assured her that her mother would be fine and once she'd had the x-ray she could come back to see her mother again. Jessie began to trust Holly and taking her hand she followed her up to x-ray waving goodbye to her mother. Patrick sighed: His emotions becoming tangled inside his head. On one side he was glad to see Holly alive and well but on the other he knew he no longer held the same love for her that he once did. Rubbing his head slightly he stormed out towards the changing room to gather his thoughts.  
  
Holly returned to A&E determined to see Patrick and sort out their feelings for one another. She knew it was not possible for them to work within the same building if they were unsure of how they felt for each other. Holly sighed gently hoping they would both agree on how they felt. Slowly she walked to the staffroom hoping to find Patrick in there. Unfortunately she realised it wasn't Patrick in the staffroom but heard someone crying in the dark. It was Lara.  
  
Lara heard the door open and quickly tried to dry her eyes. She knew it wasn't Patrick, she hoped it was Dillon. But no such luck. She heard a female voice call out to her before the light was switched on. Holly closed the door behind her and approached Lara.  
"Are you ok?" She asked. Lara shot her a look, which was self-explanatory. Holly turned, switched off the light and walked out almost walking into Dillon, who was walking down the corridor on his way to find Lara.  
  
Dillon pushed open the staff room door and could hear Lara sobbing in the dark. Before he could say anything he heard her voice call to him, "Can't you take the hint. Just leave me alone!"  
"Lara?" He questioned and she realised it was Dillon. Instantly she regretted saying what she had. She wiped her eyes again as he came to sit next to her. He put his arm around her and comforted her.  
  
"You don't even know how things are gonna turn out Lara. You never know…" he began. She stood up quickly and walked to the window, staring down to the floor. She raised her hand to her face rubbing her left eye, before it came to rest on her cheek. She inhaled deeply before sighing.  
"You know I truly thought he was the one…Why do I have such bad timing?" Dillon smiled slightly. Trust Lara to blame herself for something she could have no control over. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned and embraced him in a friendly hug. Well, she thought, at least I have such a good friend. But deep down she knew it wasn't enough for her. The one thing she wanted most of all, was the one thing she felt in danger of losing. Resting her head gently on Dillon's shoulder she thought to herself, If only he knew... 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Holly sighed biting her lip unsure of whether she could confront Patrick after all this time. She stood outside the changing rooms glancing briefly at the floor. She closed her eyes and turned the handle.  
  
Patrick jumped slightly on hearing the door opening.  
"Lara?" He instinctively asked, even though he knew it was unlikely to be her. Turning he saw Holly enter. His heart skipped slightly. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. He knew she was nervous but so was he.  
"Hope I'm not a disappointment?" she questioned knowing he had not been expecting her, but trying to start a conversation off anyway. He just shook his head.  
"You could never be that…" He trailed off, past memories flooding his thoughts. Holly bit her lip growing increasingly nervous as time went on.  
"How are you?" she asked.  
"Fine. You?" she just nodded in reply. "How was Germany?" He continued.  
"Yeah was good to get away from everything for a while. Help me you know." He knew exactly what she meant. The incident with Tom had freaked her out for a long time and he understood her reasons for leaving. "So any changes here? Did I miss anything?" She enquired. He smiled slightly relaxing in her company. She had always had that effect on him.  
"Well you missed Josh and Colette's wedding. Max was suspended for a little while but he's back and as bad as ever. His replacement was ten times as bad as he was if you could believe it!" Holly smiled trying to picture someone that was worse than Max. "Oh and…Chloe left…"  
A wave of disappointment crept over her. "Oh…when?"  
"A few weeks ago. It's a long story…Anna might be able to explain better though. And…" Patrick stopped short he had been going to explain about him and Lara. She looked at him hopefully.  
"And…?" She prompted.  
"It's nothing." She just looked at him.  
"Come on Patrick, I know you better than that." She paused. "Is it to do with the blonde SHO that was in resus? Lara, Is that her name?"  
"Yeah she's called Lara. But no…" He trailed off lying. She gave him a knowing look and shook her head slightly. "Yeah ok." She smiled slightly. Other things at Holby may have changed, but you could always count on Patrick to appear to remain the same. He sighed and sat down, motioning for her to sit next to him.  
"I dunno how to describe it. It's like even on a bad day she just has to show up and it makes everything ok. Like nothing else matters."   
  
As Patrick continued to talk to her, Holly smiled secretly to herself. Relieved slightly, happy that he had moved on. Patrick Spiller had finally fallen in love with someone who appeared to reciprocate. And from what he said gave as good as she got. She knew he would be happy and that was all that mattered. She still loved him but was no longer in love with him.  
"So you've finally met your match then Patrick" He paused before turning to her and smiling.  
"You know I think I have…" 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
Lara remained with Dillon for a few more minutes before Duffy came to find her telling her that she and Dillon were both needed. Drying her eyes she quickly splashed water on her face before sighing and smiling at Dillon.  
She walked to the whiteboard where she was handed a patient's notes, which she quickly glanced over.  
"I got the easy one!" She teased him laughing as she read his patient's notes over his shoulder. He laughed shaking his head. At least she seemed to be ok now. She was back into her competitive spirit.  
  
Lara walked to cubicle 4 and began to assess her patient, a 12 year old boy, called Andrew who had fallen and had a piece of glass stuck in his arm. Lara gently injected him with a local anaesthetic and gently removed the glass in one segment. She stitched him up and then he was fine. She walked past the staff room and caught a glance of Holly and Patrick talking. She knew there was something up. She could see in his eyes that he'd known Holly for a long time. She knew deep in her heart that his heart had never truly belonged to her. She was beginning to lose sight of him. Turning she walked towards Dillon seeing if he knew where Colette was. Then the door of the staff room opened and Holly walked out smiling. Lara watched Holly walk past on her way back up to paeds and she scowled slightly. Colette appeared and came to talk to her.  
  
"You ok Lara?" Colette asked.  
"Never better," she lied her face telling a different story. "I was actually coming to find you. Tell me, what's the deal with her and Patrick?"  
Colette shrugged slightly, "From what I gather they used to be an item in med. School, then she broke up with him and came to work here. He then got the SPR job here and then they worked together for a while until there was an incident and she left to recover in Germany."  
"An incident?" she questioned. Colette nodded.  
"It's not my business to go further into it," she said. Lara nodded understanding as Colette walked towards Duffy. Lara sighed and then continued to walk down towards reception glancing briefly at Patrick who had just appeared from the staff room.  
  
"Lara!" He called, but she just ignored him and carried on, "Lara!" he tried again with more insistence. To his surprise she stopped and whirled around, her green eyes flashed showing visible her hurt.  
"I'm not in the mood for being messed about Patrick." He just watched after her confused as to what had just happened.  
"Charlie is it ok if I take my break now?" Lara asked.  
"Yeah sure, but if we need you we might have to bleep you yeah?" he replied. She nodded smiling to him before wandering up to the canteen. 


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: This contains a bit of a Holby City crossover.  
  
Chapter 6  
Pushing open the doors she spotted Sandy, Liam, Danny and Lisa sat together. Lisa waved to her and beckoned her to come and sit with them. As she sat down Lara surveyed the surrounding people; Sam was sat with Ric Griffin and Alex was sat as far away as possible from them trying to chat up a young redheaded nurse. The hurt was clearly written over Sam's face as she turned away from him. Even though Lara was not best of friends with Sam, in fact she hardly ever talked to her, in that fleeting moment, Lara sympathised with Sam immensely. Sighing she turned and began to concentrate on the conversation the other four were sharing.   
"So…" she eventually asked Lisa, "You and Steve?" Lisa just smiled.  
"Getting there." Lara smiled mischievously back. The other three had changed the subject to Alex and were commenting on him and Sam.  
  
Lisa began to sense that Lara was uncomfortable, for a start she was quieter than normal. "What is it? Is it Patrick?" she asked quietly.  
Lara smiled nervously not knowing what exactly to say. "I can never keep stuff from you easily can I. You or Dillon." Lisa shook her head and raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Well his ex, Holly has returned to Holby. Working in paeds." Lisa knew exactly where the conversation was going.  
"You're scared of losing him to her aren't you?" Their eyes met and Lara just nodded slightly. The others still hadn't noticed that they weren't participating in the conversation until they changed topic again. Lisa and Lara immediately joined in throwing sarcastic comments back and forth.  
  
A few minutes later Lara's bleeper went off and she told them she had to be getting back but she'd come and find Lisa later. Lisa nodded and they went back to their conversation.  
  
Alex looked up and saw Lara getting up to leave. He conveniently timed his exit so that he would leave a few seconds after Lara had.  
Liam, Sandy, Danny and Lisa watched after him curiously through the doors to see what would happen. The other three didn't know that Lara was with Patrick, in fact few people did. But they all knew it wasn't a coincidence that Alex had followed Lara. Lisa just hoped Lara wouldn't do something as drastic as accept Alex's advances because she felt as though she was losing Patrick. She hoped Lara knew what she was doing.  
  
But Lisa should have had more faith in her friend. Lara knew exactly what she was doing… 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
"Hey Lara," Alex called after her. Lara sighed and rolled her eyes slightly. This is all I need she thought. She turned around and politely smiled at him. "I just wondered if perhaps you would fancy going for a drink later?" Lara thought about it weighing up the pros and cons in her mind before moving closer to him and whispering in his ear.  
  
She turned and saw Patrick appearing and she gave him a look knowing he had seen her whispering to Alex and also Alex's shocked expression. She was hoping he'd put two and two together and make five. Well, she thought, he was never any good at maths…  
  
She was wrong on one count; Patrick didn't even see Alex until Alex had, had time to compose himself. Patrick watched her walk off and recognised that look; he'd seen it many times before. It was one of mischief; he knew she was upto something, but he couldn't help himself frowning slightly as he briefly turned back to look at Alex. The thought of losing Lara was hard enough…but to a bastard like Adams?  
He'd seen what had happened to Sam, fair enough that was pretty much her own fault, but he didn't want similar to happen to Lara. And Victoria, Alex's previous conquest before Sam, was now six feet under. He knew Lara was well capable of taking care of herself and he knew that she always knew exactly what she was doing.  
Suddenly he felt the pieces click into place. Well he thought having a sudden mischievous idea; Two can play at that game, Miss Lara Stone…. 


	8. Chapter 8

Lara returned to the A&E department and was informed of the arrival of a hit and run. A female patient with lacerations to the face, legs and arms. Max, Lara, Dillon and Duffy were on hand to treat her when she arrived and the police were informed to come in and take down some details. That afternoon Lara was kept pretty busy and hardly noticed that she hadn't seen Patrick; she was unsure whether she was avoiding him or he was avoiding her or in fact both.  
It was not until a few minutes before the end of her shift that she happened to hear the familiar comments between Max and Patrick in resus.  
"Ah Patrick. I see you've decided to grace us with your presence" Max retorted clearly unimpressed.  
"I'm glad you've decided to keep up with the witty retorts until I leave, Max"  
"Counting the days, Patrick," He replied sarcastically.  
  
Lara grabbed her coat and walked towards Alex, who had just arrived from Theatre. "You ready?" she asked to which he merely nodded as a reply. Placing her arm in his they walked out of Holby City causing a stir in reception. "So where do you wanna go?" he asked her as they walked out of Holby.  
"Where ever you think you can take me" Lara replied as she flicked her blonde hair flirtatiously starting to lengthen her pace and looking back over her shoulder towards him.  
As Comfort and Nikki pulled up along side the A&E doors in their ambulance neither could quite believe what they were seeing. They exchanged confused glances, each as puzzled as the other.  
The gesture made by Lara did not go unnoticed as a frowning Patrick watched her leave with Alex. Turning he scowled as Max made another sarcastic retort bringing him back down to earth. Back in reception Jack had watched open-mouthed as Lara had walked out with Alex Adams. He scratched his head, unsure if he had seen what he thought he had. Surely not…But the look on Patrick's face clearly confirmed that Jack's eyes were not deceiving him.  
The rumour of Lara and Alex leaving together soon reached most ears of the hospital including those of Spencer, Tony and Dillon who continued to discuss the subject whilst they awaited the arrival of a football match riot. Spencer had been to see Holly in Paeds and decided to voice his opinion to the other two about whether Lara leaving with Alex had anything to do with Holly's return. Dillon sighed frowning slightly was fairly sure that Lara was just doing this to wind up Patrick.  
  
It didn't take a genius to see that she was being successful.   
  
Nikki & Comfort wheeled a young boy accompanied by his mother out of their ambulance and Colette and Anna manoeuvred him into a cubicle.  
"What happened?" Colette asked calmly seeing the amount of blood seething from the boy's right hand.  
"It all happened so fast!" his mother replied panicking "I just turned around for a second...I didn't even realise he had the knife..."  
Anna took her to the relatives room trying to keep her calm and gave her a cup of tea telling her that it would be ok and her son would be fine.  
Colette tried to calm the boy who had tears rolling down his face in torrents.  
"It hurts!!" he wailed. "I know, this should take the pain away ok?" Colette said and he nodded in reply.  
She cleansed the wound and gently began to sew the wound back together. She was admiring her handiwork when his mother returned slightly calmer although still anxious and shaky.  
Colette told her that there was no internal damage and that they could go home. "Just you be careful in future," she said jokingly to him "ok? Don't go picking up sharp knives" His mother smiled nervously obviously still recovering from the shock of it all. As Colette watched them leave she noticed Patrick stood behind her.  
"You ok?" she asked noticing the deep concentration on his face.  
"Huh?" he asked springing to attention.  
"Are you ok" she asked again emphasising every word.  
"Yeah, yeah" he said dismissing her. Colette raised her eyebrows slightly, "It's Lara" he continued after a pause.  
"Thought it might be" she said softly "Wanna talk about it?"  
"Not really" he sighed, "but you're going to aren't ya"  
"Not if you don't want to" she said leaving it up to him.  
"Nah it's not important" he said with a wave of his hand. She just looked at him knowing he was lying.  
"It must be important if it's distracting you. I'd have to be an idiot not to notice how much she means to you. Even with Holly back on the scene. So..." she prompted.  
He glanced around before continuing. "Well...nah it doesn't matter."  
"It's good to talk Patrick. If not to me then what about Holly?" But he'd already turned and was walking towards the lift. Colette sighed as she watched him walk away before turning and seeing Josh and Finn enter A&E. She smiled and him and went to see what they had in store for her. 


	9. Chapter 9

Authors Note: Sorry this chapter took me so long to post. But I do have my GCSE's approaching ever quicker and my parents want me to focus on them. grr :(  
So I've been re-writing this chapter and the one that follows it to be better than they were. Hope you like this and if not please let me know why so I can try to improve on it next time. :)  
Oh yeah and you all know these characters don't belong to me yeah!?!  
Love *Dragon Eyes*  
  
  
Patrick pushed open the doors to Paeds and went to find the one person who he knew could help him.  
"Holly" she turned on hearing her name and smiled at him.  
"Yeah?" she asked. Then on seeing the look on his face took him to the empty staff room. Sitting down she began "So?"  
"So what?" he began childishly.  
"Patrick, I know you too well. What is it?"  
"Well…" the look in her eyes said she already knew what was coming.  
"Lara?" he nodded and let out a deep sigh.  
"She's gone off with that bastard Adams from surgery" he said with obvious distaste.  
"Alex Adams? The one who was with Sam Kennedy?" she asked. He nodded but looked puzzled.  
"How'd…?" He started.  
"News travels fast in here. You should know that" She stated.  
"Well I know, or at least I hope, she's only doing it to wind me up"  
"Successfully as well I see" she jumped in smiling cheekily. This was the relationship she had missed with Patrick; not an intimate relationship but the loving friendship that they'd once shared. This was how she wanted the two of them to be.  
"Ha ha" he said half heartedly before continuing. "But it doesn't make a difference. I think she feels threatened by you and what we used to have. I could see the hurt in her eyes in resus…" he trailed off as a lump began to form in his throat. He had never felt so guilty before. He sighed loudly before raising his head to glance at Holly.  
"You need to tell her Patrick" their eyes met and he nodded knowing what he had to do. "Look I get off in half an hour so how bouts going for a drink and you can tell me what I've missed since I've been away k?" she continued smiling, "There's nothing you can do about it tonight wait till tomorrow and tell her then." Patrick sighed knowing she was right. He knew he would have to wait until tomorrow.  
  
  
Lara strolled into the pub and instantly ordered a vodka and tonic. Sitting down she watched Alex order before he came to sit opposite her.  
She wasn't sure what to say but luckily he seemed quite happy to start off a conversation…about himself. She soon realised the 'smile and nod' technique worked wonders with Alex as he continued to ramble on about work, Sam, his court case, Meyer. Soon she felt her eyes wander around the pub desperately trying to find someone else that she knew and could disappear to talk to even just briefly. She sighed gently but Alex seemed to take it as a sign to continue talking and Lara glanced down at her watch. 7.05pm. Lisa should be finished work soon. It was then that Lara realised how bored she actually was; she would take Patrick being an arrogant twat at work all week over an hour and a half sat with Alex droning on about himself.  
Lara began to realise there was only so much she could take of Alex Adams.... Sober.  
  
  
She was determined not to waste the night though. She got up to go to the now slightly crowded bar and let her eyes roam freely whilst she waited to be served. She spotted Jack, Nikki, Anna and Tony entering the bar and made her way through the crowd of people to see them, smiling.  
"Thank God you came. Alex was about to put me in a coma!" The others couldn't help laughing. "Are you guys staying here or moving on to a club later?"  
"We were actually coming in here to look for Danny, Liam, Sandy and Lisa. They said they'd come out with us. We were gonna go to 'The Last Resort'. Jack's gonna be DJ-ing again tonight Wanna come?" Tony asked.  
A flash of relief spread across Lara's face as she let out a sigh. "Would I ever!" She grabbed her coat and briefly apologised to Alex before walking over to Lisa, Sandy and Mubbs who had just arrived. Seeing Danny and Liam outside the group left the pub and a smile came to Lara's face as she watched Anna trying to chat up Liam. Linking arms with Lisa she smiled to herself; And I thought tonight was gonna be dull  
  
  
He had decided to go and tell Lara exactly how he felt but looking at a picture of them on his wall reminded him of the pain he had caused her. He wasn't due to be in at work till 1pm. He glanced at the clock and groaned. 7:30am. He hadn't been able to sleep; too worried about Lara and what he was going to say to her. Turning over he buried himself further into his bed. "A few hours more won't do any harm" he mumbled before drifting back off to sleep. He didn't know how wrong he could be.  
  
  
Lara lay sleeping on the staffroom sofa. In pitch darkness. A knock at the door slowly brought her back to consciousness. "Yeah?" she called sleepily and a figure stepped quietly into the room and flicked on the light. Lara groaned quietly, squinting through the sudden bright light before going over to the sink to splash water on her face. She needed to be fully awake for the conversation that was going to follow. She glanced at her watch, 7.30am, and groaned again. Her next shift started in a few hours and she felt like she could barely string two words together never mind being able to diagnose patients. Her mind was blurred and she couldn't remember much of the previous night but she'd been told they'd all had a good time. Yeah she thought but some of us still have to work in a few hours. She yawned closing her eyes willing the concert that was still playing in her head to stop but she was having no luck; they were insistent of continuing until the concerto was over.  
"Lara? There's something, or rather someone, I need to talk to you about" Holly said breaking the silence.  
"Look if this is about Patrick, I really don't have time for this," she said drying her face. She turned to face her and sighed. "It seems pretty clear to me that he's already made his choice." Holly just stared at her.  
"If you're implying that me and Patrick…? You're so wrong. He loves you. He told me so." Lara just shot her a look that clearly said just leave it. Holly ignored the warning and continued further.   
"Look all I wanted to tell you is don't throw away any chance that you still have with him. OK? Don't throw it all away like I did. Believe me you'll come to regret it. There's far too many 'what ifs' all ready in this world…Don't add to them." Holly said before turning towards the door. She'd only gotten a few steps forward when Lara stopped her.  
"I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions. It's nothing personal. It's just…" Lara trailed off. "I guess I was just jealous. The way he looked at you. It was obvious he loved you."  
"The important word in that sentence was 'loved', Past tense. He loves you. I mean, yeah, I still love him. I always will do, but I'm not IN love with him and vice versa." Holly said moving closer to Lara, who motioned for her to sit beside her on the sofa.  
  
  
"Good Morning Holby South, It's 8am and you're listening to Mark Walker on the breakfast show here at 107.7 Holby FM" Patrick groaned as he heard the radio jump to life. He'd only managed to sleep for half an hour. He slammed his hand against the radio alarm clock silencing it immediately. Yawning tiredly he decided to get up. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep now. Clumsily he made his way over to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Stepping in he allowed the warm jets of water to wash over him bringing a sense of stillness over him. He sighed contentedly as the worry and heartache slowly drifted away.  
  
  
"What happened between you two?" Lara asked curiously. Then she sensed Holly's slight discomfort and instantly added; "You don't have to tell me." Holly smiled at Lara and then proceeded to tell her from the beginning about her history with Patrick. She left nothing out…Ed, Med School, Tom, everything. She felt tears returning to her eyes at the thought of Tom Harvey. Lara saw her shudder and couldn't imagine the pain and horror Holly must have been though.  
"He hasn't changed at all has he?" Lara asked.  
"No" Holly smiled at her, "That's one thing you can always count on…Patrick being Patrick."  
The two of them sat there swapping stories about their lives. What they had done, where they had been, who they had met. They didn't even realise the time until Dillon arrived at 8:30am. He smiled at them before rushing to find Max. Holly smiled to herself as she watched him walk out. This did not go unnoticed.  
"He's single by the way" Lara hinted smiling slightly.  
"Huh?" was the only slightly confused reply.  
"Dillon he's single. I can always hint. Find out if he's interested" Lara teased laughing slightly.  
"You wouldn't!" Holly paused slightly "Mind he is cute." Holly said smiling. And at those words a plan began to form in Lara's mind. 


	10. chapter 10

Author's Note: All Lyrics are those from "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" by Travis  
Secondary note: Yeah, I found this fic just recently and I can't believe I hadn't finsihed it so heres an ending. It might not have been the exact one I was gonna use but its an ending.  
Disclaimer: No-one belongs to me. If they did Patrick would not have died and Max wouldn't have left. Oh and jan would have been fired long ago. so there. lol  
  
Chapter 10  
He had only just gotten in his car when Patrick felt his thoughts drifting towards a familiar blonde Australian female.  
His mind was filled with dread at the thought of talking to her about their relationship, or what they seemed to be currently calling one. But deep down inside some small part of him was relieved that he could finally admit what he truly felt for her.  
He was barely paying attention to the direction he was going in, as his mind was preoccupied, yet his body seemed to co-ordinate itself to subconsciously direct him to Holby City. He stopped at the red light and waited patiently for the light to change back to green. Drumming his fingers he boredly flicked the radio over trying to find something interesting to listen to. Suddenly something caught his attention:  
  
  
"Why does it always rain on me?  
Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?  
Why does it always rain on me?  
Even when the sun is shining  
I can't avoid the lightning  
Oh where did the blue skies go?  
And why is it raining so?..."  
  
  
Patrick couldn't help but smile to himself. Looking up he saw the light change from red, to red and yellow and then finally the flash of green. He proceeded forward beginning to hum slightly to the song.  
Suddenly there was this almighty crash and Patrick found himself pressed against the car side with his head by the glass. He turned his head as best he could to see what had happened. He knew he had been involved in a crash but he couldn't see what had happened. He thought he was uninjured except for a sharp pain in his arm, but he knew for certain that he was trapped. The car door had become stuck in the crash and he could not open it. He searched for his mobile phone as best he could as he tried to move his injured arm. "Damn" he muttered as he realised that he was a few inches short.  
Grasping he desperately tried to extend those extra few inches. Wincing slightly he felt his fingers brush against the cold plastic and triumphantly grabbing hold. He brought it towards him feeling pain shooting up his arm. Wincing again he instinctively selected a number on his phone hoping she would pick up.  
  
  
"Bring Bring.... Bring Bring" Lara glanced at her phone and placed her cup down. Bringing it towards her face she paused uncertain whether to answer. Her fingers hovered gently above the 'ok' key before swiftly moving across towards the 'cancel' key. The phone was instantly silenced. Anything he had to say to her could wait. She sighed apologetically before standing up and returning back to the commotion that was work.  
  
  
Patrick frowned at the phone. He knew he would have to wait for the paramedics to arrive. He groaned inwardly knowing the comments he would hear "You're meant to be helping RTA victims not being one" and the like. And Max would surely have some comment about him not being in to work on time. There was another jolt as another car crashed into the rear of the pile. His phone flew from his grasp and lay on the floor out of his reach. He swore and then sighed waiting to hear the familiar sounds of an approaching ambulance.  
  
  
"Alright everyone" Charlie said. "We have an RTA coming in; 5 reported victims, three major casualties. ETA three minutes. Set up in resus." Lara and Dillon walked towards the main doors to wait for the first arrival.  
  
  
Patrick was trying to keep hopeful, sure someone would ring for an ambulance soon. He felt his head began to spin and slowly he started to drift in and out of consciousness. In the distance he was sure he heard an approaching ambulance but the sound had no sooner reached his ears than his world turned black.  
  
  
Josh and Finn were the first on scene. They assessed each patient helping the two minor casualties out before Josh came to rest by Patrick's car. He cast his experienced eyes over the situation:  
A male in his mid thirties who appeared to be DOA and a female in her early thirties who had broken her arm and was covered in cuts and bruises were in one car. Finn was trying to help the female escape from the wreckage. A female in her late twenties, who although was a major casualty was stable, was still stuck in the car although her passenger a male in his mid twenties who appeared to have a broken leg was laid upon a stretcher with his leg in a support.  
Nothing could be done for the two major casualties until back up arrived.  
And then there was Patrick. Seriously injured but Josh knew Patrick was a fighter. He hoped someone up there liked the normally arrogant Dr 'Superstar' Spiller otherwise Holby could be losing one of its greatest doctors…  
  
  
At the arrival of Nikki and Comfort, Josh sent two patients with them and another crew took a major casualty and a minor casualty to Holby City. Work was then set about to removing Patrick from the collision. The roof of his car would have to be removed to be able to transport him on to a stretcher. Josh bit his lip slightly as the firemen worked their way through the car metal taking care not to add to Patrick's injuries. Once the metal had cut from the car Patrick was then lifted out of the crash and put onto a stretcher from Josh and Finn's ambulance. They then began to monitor him and he immediately went straight through to resus.  
  
  
Lara and Dillon walked towards the approaching paramedics and helped them with their two patients. They wheeled the stable but severely injured female into resus to properly assess her whilst the male, Dominic, was taken to x-ray to have his broken leg examined.  
Nikki and Comfort arrived quite soon after and wheeled out a major male casualty who they had just about given up hope on. Duffy and Charlie continued chest compressions for 5 minutes but as he had not responded he was presumed dead on impact. His wife, Sarah, was distraught, as she had escaped with minor injuries and a broken arm. Duffy went to comfort her whilst a stir went around the hospital over the identity of the fifth casualty...  
  
  
Lara had just finished on her patient when the fifth casualty was wheeled in. She pulled on a new pair of gloves and went to assist Max. She glanced briefly at the visage of the victim and her face drained white with the shock.  
  
  
"Patrick?" was about all she could say as disbelief filled the air. Before she could say anything else Max looked at her.  
"Lara I don't think you should..." She just stared defiantly at him.  
"I'm staying"  
"Is that a good idea Lara?" questioned Dillon. She just glared fiercely at him. To her surprised he glared back at her. Her eyes moved from Patrick to Dillon and back. She nodded resignedly still recovering of the shock of seeing him laid there. She peeled off her gloves and with a backward glance she stormed out of resus.  
  
  
The fresh air hit her as soon as the doors parted. Her head was spinning. She instinctively reached for her cigarettes and lit one. She walked towards the benches still a bit dazed but her mind never straying away from Patrick for too long.  
"They'll kill you, you know" Lara glanced to the speaker, the face not registering.  
"Yeah, so I've been told" she said sarcastically as the still image of Patrick continued to flood her mind.  
"You ok?" came the voice. Lara could only shake her head before the tears began to spill from her eyes. She couldn't remember ever feeling this much pain. It was as if she had been taken to a great height and left to drop. She wished she could swap places with him just to stop this sudden rush of pain. She glanced towards the sky. She hadn't even noticed that it had begun to rain. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. It would be ok. He would be ok. Wiping the tears away from her eyes she turned her attention to the speaker. It was only then that she realised it was Holly. Her face frowned in concern.  
"You look tired", she managed to voice, pushing back a stray wisp of blonde hair. Holly looked towards her pausing slightly, unsure of what to say.  
"You don't realise how much the fatigue overtakes you until you stop, do you?" Holly commented. Lara merely forced a half smile; her mind was pre-occupied. Images of Patrick kept flooding her mind, unsettling her. She longed to return to his side but she daren't for fear of what might greet her eyes. She briefly glanced upwards as the rain began to stop and a rainbow slowly filled the sky. Hope was ever present... 


	11. chapter 11 and Epilogue

Disclaimers: usual apply.  
Chapter 11  
  
The rainbow had long since disappeared when Holly and Lara returned into the bustling reception. Holly yawned and her face was now visibly tired. "You should go and sleep you know. You'll need the rest." Holly yawned again and smiled at the Australian before nodding resignedly. Her return to work at Holby had exhausted her and she no longer had the effort to continue the battle against the unwell. She blindly allowed her feet to continue one step in front of the other wandering slowly towards the on call room. Her eyes began to close as she opened the door and staggered towards the bed in the corner. She had no sooner laid down upon the soft ocean blue sheets than her eyes closed and she was asleep.  
  
  
Lara watched Holly stagger to the on call room and then once assured she would be ok, she returned to resus slightly happier with hopes on Patrick's improvement. He was still there; sound asleep and peaceful. Her eyes glanced around the unusually quiet resus area before she made her way over to him. Pulling a chair up to his bedside she took hold of his hand and gently stroked it.   
"They say nothing lasts forever, but we will won't we." His limp form gave no reply so it was just as well that she wasn't expecting one. "You'll get better, I'll realise I was a fool for almost pushing you away, you'll pretend to be angry with me, we'll make up…" Her eyes drifted slowly over his body coming to rest on the monitor that was attached to his arm. Her eyes studied it for a second then satisfied he was stable she returned to her one way conversation. "You know there's so many things I wanted to tell you but when I saw that it was you on the trolley I just felt so sick. I kept wishing that it was me on that trolley. It should have been me, not you. I kept thinking what if you didn't make it, I'd have all these thoughts running through my head, all these words that I never get to say, all the things we never get to do…" She drifted off unable to continue. She raised her other hand and brushed a stray strand of hair from his face as she desperately tried to cling on to the tears, which were trying to force their way out.  
His eyes slowly opened and his head turned to focus solely on her.  
"I was talking to Holly about you earlier" She began but he silenced her mid sentence.  
"Lara?" he struggled to say grasping her hand tightly.  
"I'm not going to let you go. You hear," She said half jokingly but he could see the seriousness written in her eyes. A silence overcame the pair as their roller coaster of emotions came slowly to a halt, ceasing all movement. He struggled to speak and she could see the effort it was taking him. Her eyes met with his and he stopped struggling. Some things were best said without the use of words.  
  
  
The door creaked open and a shadowy figure approached the distant bed. An outstretched hand felt for the bed but was met with the distinct shape of a human body. His hand was instantly withdrawn and even through the shadows his cheeks visibly flushed red.  
She awoke with a start having the distinct impression that someone else was in the room. An unnerving feeling washed over her as sharp painfully memories flooded back to her. Instantly her hand reached for the light. Blinking several times to adjust to the rush of bright artificial light she began to make out a figure in one corner of the room.  
"Dillon?" She asked squinting through the light.  
"Holly?" Came his surprised voice. By now both had become adjusted to the light and an awkward silence engulfed the tiny room as the two figures nervously glanced at each other.  
  
  
Lara lifted her head from the trolley beside Patrick and blinked twice in succession trying to focus. For a blissful, but disconcerting, moment she couldn't remember where she was or why she was there but as her eyes were cast to Patrick's side the memories suddenly came flooding back. She glanced around the unusually quiet resus area before watching him peacefully sleep. She smiled to herself before the doors to resus were dramatically cast aside and a male patient in respiratory arrest was brought in. Duffy entered and made her way over to the duo.  
"We've found him a bed," She said causing Lara to smile. Patrick woke slowly and, after a quick briefing from Duffy, was wheeled up to the ward; Lara never left his side.  
  
  
Dillon stood transfixed on the spot like a rabbit in headlights. His hand reached for the door handle as his face continued to go through various shades of crimson and then red. The unnerving feeling had passed over Holly and once again she felt like her normal self. His embarrassment was sweet she thought. He muttered an apology to her and began to turn the handle. "Hey" she said and he turned to face her again "What did you want?" she asked. Confusion briefly spread across his face, before he regained his senses.   
"Erm..well I was just gonna rest for a bit before Lara would be ready to go home, but now I think she's gonna be a while so I might just go home and catch up with her later." He managed to state before stealing a brief glance over towards Holly.  
"Unless you fancied going for a drink first?" She propositioned.  
"Are you asking?" He commented.  
"Would you say yes?" She quipped. A smile crossed his face and instantly Holly was also smiling too.  
"Yeah I'd say yes."  
"Then I'm asking." And with no further words the pair of them left the on call room.  
  
  
  
Epilogue - Three Months Later  
Holly and Dillon are now together.  
Lara and Patrick are still togather.  
Patrick got a second Consultant's post at Holby, and Lara got his SPR post. 


End file.
